Recent articles in Retirement

Prepare yourselves, my friends, for this is one of those “Bucket List” motivational-type articles. First, let me say to those of you who are already checking off the “to do’s” on your list, right-on! You know I’ve got questions, right? What is it that you’ve always wanted to do, big or small, but didn’t think you’d ever be able to do? Now, don’t be a smart-ass, and list something that is impossible (I think) like court someone who has died. I’m talking ...

In a recent conversation with one of my grad-school mentors about the experiences of the lives of present-day Baby Boomers, I was invited to interview and write about my 77-year-old, maternal grandmother. I was asked to talk to my abuelita about her life now and how she’s relating to herself. My goal was to gain insight into her experiences as an older member of our society. Listen to the heart of my dearest Baby Boomer. Alicia: Tell me what is it like to be 77-years-old? ...

Baby Boomers are well within the traditional age range for retirement, but many are retiring and going back to work, and many, still, are starting completely over in new careers. My deduction for this atypical behavior, although very boomer-like, is that Baby Boomers were born during an economic upswing and came of age during a time of social upheaval and protest, so the mindset of “make love not war” might have spilled over into their social philosophy about the value of fiscal ...

Co-author, Takira Johnson Retiring, especially when your identity is connected to your livelihood, can be a difficult transition. Initially, for some of us, it sounds good not to have to go to work. However, for some others our careers have become our identity and without our career-identity, we don’t recognize ourselves. Because for at least 25 to 30 years, we had attributed our value and purpose to being a professional, contributing our expertise ...

Make an excel spreadsheet or a document or write on a piece of paper all your income and expenses. Constantly track every time money comes in or out on a monthly basis. Expenses and should be of your income after taxes. If 90-100% of your income is going towards necessities, then you are living paycheck to paycheck. The problem is that you are not having money to save and invest. You will also have no money saved up for retirement. You need to either cut down on expenses or make more ...

Take a moment and think about the images that come up for you when you think of the word retirement. Perhaps, you visualized a relaxed lifestyle, vacationing, or the opportunity to enjoy stillness after having worked long, hard years. While this may be the reality for some retirees, more people are following a new trend of working into their later years. This movement has been found to be true especially for the Baby Boomer generation. This group of people, born ...